Car-fender.



No. 633,636. j Patented Sept-.26, I899.

W. BONHAM.

GAR FENDER.

(Application filed Feb. 14, 1899.)

(No Model.)

7a fay-24 m: noun: mam 00.. marou'ma, wumm'ron. D. c.

IJNTTED STATES PATENT OFFIQE.

\VILIJAM BONI-IAH, OF BLUE RIDGE, GEORGIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO T. IV. NEWELL, OF SAME PLACE.

CAR-FENDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 633,636, dated September 26, 1899.

Application filed February 1 1899. Serial No. 705,468. (No model.)

To (all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, \VILLIAM BONHAM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Blue Ridge, in the county of Fannin and State of Georgia, have invented new and useful Improvements in Car-Fenders, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of carfenders which are norm all ycarried above the surface of railways, and has for its general object to provide sucha fenderadapted when struck by a person or object to move rearwardly and downwardly, so as to pick up such person or object and then resume its normal position and support and carry the same clear of the surface.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be fully understood from the following description and claims when taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a car equipped with my improved fender. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail section taken in the plane indicated by the line 3 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4is a similar view taken in the plane indicated by line 4 4 of Fig. 2.

In the said drawings similar letters designate corresponding parts in all of the several views, referring to which- A is the platform of a car.

B B are the brackets of my improved fender, which are connected to and extend downwardly and forwardly from the underside of the platform and provided with slots 0, disposed as shown, and D is the fender proper.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention the fender proper, D, comprises slightlycurved side bars a, connected together by cross-bars b; a rubbercovered rope or wire 0, interposed between and connected to the side bars at the forward'ends thereof; a rope or wire (1, interposed between and connected to the side bars adjacent to the upper ends thereof; a flexible netting e, disposed above the rods 1) and connected tothe ropes or wires 0 (Z; a rubber-covered roller f, which is disposed below the netting e and is journaled at its ends in the side bars adjacent to the forward ends thereof, and a shaft g, journaled in the side bars adjacent to the upper ends thereof and having its ends extended beyond said side bars and provided with ant-ifrictionrollers h. The rubber-covered rope e and roller f have for their purpose to lessen the liability of the fender seriously injuring persons whom it strikes. .The rollerf also serves to prevent injury to the fender proper and enables it to move freely over the surface of the railway when depressed, and I prefer to employ the same for such reason. I do not desire, however, to be understood as confining myself to the use of the rubber-covered rope and roller, nor do I desire to be understood as confining myself to the specific construction of the fender proper shown, as said fender proper may be of any construction suitable to the purposes of my invention.

The antifriction -wheels 7t of the fender proper, D, are arranged and adapted to move from arms E on the car-platform by means.

of chains F or other flexible connections, connected to the arms and to the forward ends of the side bars a, as shown. By virtue of this construction it will be seen that the fender proper is normally carried above the surface of the railway, and hence is not liable to frictional wear or to be damaged by small stones or other obstructions on such surface. It will also be seen that in the event of the fendenproper being engaged by the body of a person or any other large obstruction on the track the upper end of the fender proper by reason of the wheels it moving in the slots 0 will mbve upwardly and rearwardly and the forward end of said fender proper will move downwardly to the surface of the railway. Such downward movement of the forward end of the fender proper enables the same to pick up the person or object struck, and the weight of the person when imposed on the fender proper causes the same to resume its normal position, (shown in Fig. 1,) with the result that the person or object is carried above and clear of the surface of the railway until the car is stopped. From this it follows that the liability of seriously injuring the person struck is reduced to a minimum, as is also the liability of such person getting past the fender and under the wheels of the car.

The described connection between the fender proper and the brackets B permits of the fender proper being swung up against the dash of the car when it is not desired to use the fender, and to the same end I pivotally connect the arms E to the dash, as shown, so as to enable said arms to swing in a horizontal plane flat against the dash. l/Vhen said arms E are moved flat against the dash, they offer no obstruction to the upward movement of the fender proper, which when not in use maybe fastened to the dash by any approved means, which I have not deemed it necessary to illustrate.

It will be appreciated from the foregoing that notwithstanding the fact that my improved fender possesses material advantages it is extremely simple and cheap and is adapted to be expeditiously applied to cars at present in use without necessitating any change in the construction thereof.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. In a car-fender, the combination of a car,

brackets connected with the car and having inclined slots, a fender proper having lateral extensions at its rear end provided with flanged antifriction-wheels arranged and movable in the slots of the brackets, arms pivotally connected with the car so as to swing in a horizontal plane, and flexible connections interposed between said arms and the forward portion of the fender proper, substantially as specified.

2. In a ca r-fender, the combination of a car, brackets connected with the car and having inclined slots, a fender proper having lateral extensions at its rear end arranged and movable in the slots of the brackets and also haviuga transverse roller-cushion at its under side adjacent to its forward end, arms connected to and extending forwardly from the car, and flexible connections between said arms and the forward portion of the fender proper, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM BONHAM.

lVit-nesses:

W. J. JOHNSON, R. P, Hooks. 

